To have the lights dim at night

[Kinsters]

Once we've had dinner, got DD in bed and settled down to relax I can't stand having the main lights on. It's so much more relaxing to just have the lamps on (especially as you can't see the pile of clothes in the corner that needs putting away 😂). DH would have them on full blast until bedtime if he got his way.

I'm currently coveting a salt lamp for that lovely warm glow.

big lights just come in houses

I know they do, but it's not that difficult to remove a pendant lamp fitting and put a blank ceiling rose up to safely cover the electric wires.
I don't understand why so many people have a dust-collecting unused lamp dangling from the middle of their ceiling.

I have a salt lamp. It is bliss.

My head really hates bright lights.

Getting voice controlled lighting changed my life. Just ask whatever device to turn/off specific lights, brightness and colour. The bulbs don't have to be the ridiculously overpriced Hue or whatever either.

Just now it's so bright at night I don't need anything on unless I'm reading. In the winter as soon as the kids are in bed, I close the curtains and light the candles and only have the side lamps on.
We only really have the big lights on if one of us is reading or I'm drawing / doing Lego with ds.

The main lights ensure that I cannot get to sleep until gone 3am.

As I have to get up by 5am for work, those fuckers stay off from 8pm onwards once we've eaten and if DP wants a bright light, he closes the door to the spare room so I'm not pinged awake on the way upstairs to bed.

Candle light hurts my eyes.

Can't remember the last time we turned out big lights on in the living room. We only ever use the lamps.
I have a lamp which can be made brighter over me if I want to do something like sew, but this doesn't really affect the rest of the room much.

@Ifailed

I do wonder why some people have a 'big light' in rooms where they've no intention of turning them on.

They were part of the house when we bought it. We have paid for nice lights as they 'finish' the room. So they look nice but aren't actually used.

I have some big uplighters and decorative lights that most Mumsnetters would think were ghastly and hideous and break out in hives seeing (yes, LED string lights.. In my lounge!).

So I'm with you on not having main lights, but there can be a thing as too dim.

My parents don't put any lights on in the evening and just have the glow of the TV ... drives me mad in winter can't see a bloody thing when I visit!

Couldn't sit in a room with ceiling lights in. Always have lamps on around the room in the evening.

This is an ongoing source of stress in my house. After dinner or ~7pm whichever comes first. I turn off the overhead kitchen light and hall light if it’s on. Then I turn on the dimmer overhead lights in the kitchen and dining room as well as lamps in our living room.

If I make the mistake of asking DH to turn off the overhead kitchen light, he will always turn off the two dimmers and leave the glaring overhead kitchen light on.

It’s not like we’ve ever called it anything different or that he hasn’t seen me get up 1000 times muttering “FFS the overhead light” I was so disappointed when I bought Alexa compatible bulbs and they didn’t work. I swear I spend about 3 hours a day adjusting lights in the house!

Really don't like the 'big light' at all. For me too harsh and drains colour in a really unpleasant way.

We have paid for nice lights as they 'finish' the room. So they look nice but aren't actually used.

Why?

Hate big lights with a passion, they just make everything look so bad and depressing.
I have (beautiful) lamps everywhere. And smart plugs so I can command them from my Google Home or phone.

@Ifailed

I do wonder why some people have a 'big light' in rooms where they've no intention of turning them on.

Because they're here. They can also be useful sometimes.

I never turn my ceiling lights on, yet I want to buy some beautiful ones, just to compliment the space really.

The big light gives me a migraine, fucking hate led bulbs with a passion, we just recently bought a lamp that's still fairly bright but not frazzling my head, otherwise we would take out the bulb that's above my sofa spot